Image processing system

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a display screen based on a display pattern of an image processing apparatus. Instruction data in which process information representing as a series of processes at least one process performed to document data and UI information for setting execution contents of the processes are described is acquired, and the UI information is extracted. A screen structure is generated on the basis of the UI information, and a screen of screen information obtained by reflecting the setting information on the screen structure is displayed. In this manner, a display screen having versatility and expandability can be provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority under 35USC 119 from JapanesePatent Application No. 2003-81355, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatusand an image processing method and, more particularly, to an imageprocessing apparatus for performing processes in accordance withinstruction data which expresses a plurality of processes to beperformed to document data as a series of processes and an imageprocessing method.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] A conventional complex machine in which a facsimile function, ascanner function, a printer function, and the like are integrated with acopying machine is proposed. Such a complex machine is connected to anetwork to which a personal computer (PC) or the like is connected, sothat a paperwork which uses a copying machine, a facsimile, and the likeusing paper as main media can be associated with document processeswhich are converted to electronic form on a PC.

[0006] More specifically, a paper document can be scanned to transferthe scanned data to a personal computer, a document received by afacsimile function can be directly transmitted to a PC as image datawithout being printed, or another process can be performed. In addition,after a paper document or a facsimile-received document converted toelectronic form, a large number of procedures and processes aredesirably associated with each other and automated.

[0007] For this reason, the following technique is proposed. That is, alarge number of job templates each constituted as a computerized file inwhich a desired setting related to an item to be set by a complexmachine in advance is described are prepared according to processcontents and stored, a job template corresponding to desired contents isdesignated in the large number of job templates, and the process isexecuted.

[0008] However, in this technique, since there are a large number of jobtemplates, a long time was disadvantageously required to find out anddesignate a desired job template among the large number of jobtemplates.

[0009] As a technique, which can be applied to solve this problem, thefollowing technique is disclosed. That is, desired documents areretrieved from a large number of documents, which are stored in advance,and basic information retrieval is performed depending on an informationrequest of the user to support next-stage retrieval (narrowing down) inthe retrieved document group. On the basis of a retrieval resultobtained as described above, information of an operable output screen isgenerated to the user and transferred to the user terminal (for example,see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2001-306594 (FIG. 2pages 10 to 11)).

[0010] When this technique is applied to a complex machine and a PCwhich are connected to the network, the information of the output screencan be transferred to the complex machine and the PC. For this reason,the transferred output screen can be displayed on the apparatus sidesuch as the PC or the complex machine.

[0011] However, in the above prior art, on the PC or complex machineside, the transferred output screen can be displayed. However, in thefunction of this output screen consideration was not given to the size,functions, and the like of a display device arranged on the PC orcomplex machine side. For this reason, there were occasions whenrequests had to be made to transfer, information of an output screendepending on a display pattern on the processing apparatus sideconnected to the network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention has been made to solve the above problem,and has as its object to provide an image processing apparatus and animage processing method, which can provide a display screen inaccordance with a display pattern of the image processing apparatus.

[0013] In order to achieve the above object, the invention includes: anacquisition component for acquiring instruction data in which processinformation representing as a series of processes a process performed todocument data and setting information including at least a setting itemand a setting value for setting execution contents of the processes aredescribed; an extraction component for extracting from the instructiondata the setting information to be displayed on the display component; ageneration component for generating screen information for displaying ascreen on the display component on the basis of the setting informationextracted by the extraction component; and a display component fordisplaying a screen on the basis of the screen information.

[0014] The image processing apparatus according to the inventionincludes the acquisition component to acquire instruction data in whichprocess information and setting information are described. The processinformation expresses as a series of processes a process performed todocument data. The setting information includes at least a setting itemand a setting value for setting execution contents of processes. Thedocument data is information related to documents. For example, thedocument data is character information such as text data, imageinformation obtained by reading a paper document, or the like. Theprocess information expresses as a series of processes a processperformed to document data, and expresses a co-ordination betweenprocesses related to document data. A setting item and a setting valuefor setting execution contents of processes may be set in advance atpredetermined values as initial values, and it is also possible torequire the input of a setting value.

[0015] The display component displays screen information. The displaycomponent can also comprise a touch panel function, which displaysscreen information and accepts an operation input by the user. Theextraction component extracts from the instruction data settinginformation to be displayed on the display component. The generationcomponent generates a screen structure to be displayed on the displaycomponent on the basis of the setting information extracted by theextraction component. The screen structure expresses a position, adisplay shape, and the like displayed on the display component for thesetting item and the setting value. Further, the generation componentgenerates screen information obtained by reflecting the settinginformation on the screen structure. The display component displays thegenerated screen information.

[0016] In this way, the screen structure to be displayed on the displaycomponent is generated on the basis of the setting information describedin the instruction data, and the screen information obtained byreflecting the setting information on the screen structure can bedisplayed on the display component. For this reason, a display screen,which has versatility and expandability, and can be changed in settinginformation and setting structure, can be provided.

[0017] The generation component can include an interpreting componentfor interpreting a display item for defining the screen structure on thebasis of the setting information extracted by the extraction component.The generation component interprets the display item for defining thescreen structure on the basis of the extracted setting information andoutputs the screen information on which the interpreted display item isreflected. For this reason, on the display component, the screeninformation is displayed in accordance with the display item, and thedisplay item having expandability can be displayed.

[0018] The acquisition component can acquire the instruction data froman external device. Since instruction data which is formed in advance orstored in advance can be acquired from the external device, theinstruction data can be subjected by the external device to an updatingprocess, a changing process, or the like, can be acquired as needed, andat least one process related to a series of processes can be executed,and image information displayed.

[0019] The instruction data further includes storage locationinformation representing a position of the external device in which theimage information is stored in advance, and the acquisition componentcan further acquire the screen information in accordance with thestorage location information. The screen information is stored inadvance in the external device, and the acquisition component canacquire screen information in accordance with the storage locationinformation representing the position of the external device. In thismanner, screen information can be displayed on the display componentwithout screen information being formed by the image processingapparatus.

[0020] As the storage location information, address informationrepresenting the position of the external storage device connected tothe communication network can be used. The acquisition component canacquire image information through the communication network withreference to the position of the image storage device based on theaddress information. For this reason, image information can be easilyacquired without being generated by the image processing apparatus.

[0021] The acquisition component can be connected to a server , in whichthe screen information is stored and can acquire the screen informationfrom the server. The acquisition component acquires the screeninformation from the server by connecting the acquisition component tothe server. In this manner, the screen information can be acquiredwithout being generated by the image processing apparatus.

[0022] According to the following image processing method, a screenhaving excellent expandability can be provided. More specifically,according to the image processing method the screen can acquireinstruction data in which process information representing as a seriesof processes a process performed to document data and settinginformation including at least a setting item and a setting value forsetting execution contents of the processes are described, and canextract from the instruction data the setting information to bedisplayed, generate screen information for displaying a screen on thebasis of the extracted setting information, and disply a screen on thebasis of the generated screen information.

[0023] A screen having excellent expandability can be provided bycausing a computer to process the following image processing program.More specifically, the image processing program executed in a computerwhich acquires instruction data in which process informationrepresenting as a series of processes a process performed to documentdata and setting information including at least a setting item and asetting value for setting execution contents of the processes aredescribed displays input screen information, extracts from theinstruction data the setting information to be displayed, generates ascreen structure to be displayed on the basis of the extracted settinginformation, and outputs screen information obtained by reflecting thesetting information on the generated screen structure. A data signalrepresenting the program may be included in a carrier wave, and thecarrier wave may be stored in a storage medium.

[0024] The image processing apparatus according to the invention and theimage processing method according to the invention according to theinvention can acquire instruction data in which process informationrepresenting as a series of processes a process performed to documentdata and setting information including at least a setting item and asetting value for setting execution contents of the processes aredescribed, can extract setting information, generate a screen structureon the basis of the setting information, and display a screen of screeninformation obtained by reflecting the setting information on the screenstructure. In this manner, a display screen having versatility andexpandability can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a documentprocessing network system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0026]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration ofa complex machine.

[0027]FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing interface (I/F)information.

[0028]FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing user interface (UI)information.

[0029]FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing instruction data.

[0030]FIG. 6 shows an example of UI information described in an XMLformat.

[0031]FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a display function component ofan image processing apparatus.

[0032]FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing procedures of a client terminal andinstruction data generation server in formation of instruction data.

[0033]FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a co-ordinative procedure.

[0034]FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an image display process.

[0035]FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a display image generationprocess.

[0036]FIG. 12 is an image diagram showing an example of a display screendisplayed in accordance with UI information.

[0037]FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing another application example ofthe invention to explain interrelations between service processingdevices constituting a document processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be describedbelow in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

System Configuration

[0039]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a documentprocessing system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0040] In the document processing system 1, various services and variousapplications are connected to each other through a network 5. Theservices mentioned here correspond to functions performed according toexternal requests and related to documents. The services correspond to,e.g., a copying process, a printing process, a scanning process, afacsimile transmitting/receiving process, an e-mail deliver operationprocess, a storing in a repository process, a reading from therepository operation, an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) process, anoise reduction process, and the like. However, the invention is notlimited to these processes.

[0041] The document processing system 1 comprises, in detail, a clientterminal 10 having a user interface which incorporates a plurality ofservices to designate a desired process of the user, a service retrievalserver 20 for retrieving a desired service of the user, instruction datageneration server 30 for forming instruction data on the basis ofinformation related to service co-ordination designated by the clientterminal 10, instruction data management server 40 for managing theinstruction data, and a co-ordinating process server 50 for executing aco-ordinating process of the respective services according to theinstruction data.

[0042] Furthermore, the document processing system 1 further comprisesan image processing apparatus 61 for performing image processing such asa noise reduction process of an image document, an image rotatingprocess, an OCR process, or an image binding process, a documentmanagement server 62 for managing documents, a document delivery server63 for delivering documents, a first service processing device 64 forperforming a first service process, and a second service processingdevice 65 for performing a second service process.

[0043] In this embodiment, the document processing system 1 has aconfiguration in which a plurality of servers for performingpredetermined service processes are connected to each other through thenetwork 5. However, it is satisfactory if the plurality of services areconnected to each other through the network 5, and the invention is notlimited to the configuration.

[0044] The instruction data mentioned here is data including informationrepresenting relations between functions and interface (I/F) informationfor calling functions when a series of processes are disassembled into aplurality of functional processes.

[0045]FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining interrelations betweenservice processing devices such as the image processing apparatus 61,the document management server 62, the document delivery server 63, thefirst service processing device 64, and the second service processingdevice 65 which constitute the document processing system 1. The serviceprocessing devices store pieces of I/F information representing thecontents of services provided by the service processing devices,respectively.

[0046]FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the I/Finformation. The I/F information is constituted by <Service Class>,<Service Name>, <Service Icon>, <Service Info. Location>, <Input>,<Output>, <Parameter Restriction Rules>, <Service Location>, <MethodName>, <Invocation Scheme>, and <Implicit Elements>.

[0047] <Service Class> is a class of service provided by the serviceprocessing device. As <Service Class>, <Service Class> which is definedin advance is used. <Service Class> corresponds to scanning, printing,repository, flow, or the like. <Service Name> is the name of a serviceprovided by the service processing device. <Service Icon> is positioninformation of an icon displayed on a Graphical User Interface (GUI) ofthe client terminal 10. <Service Info. Location> is a Uniform ResourceLocator (URL) used when the instruction data generation server 30acquires I/F information.

[0048] <Input> is an input to a service. <Output> is an output from aservice. <Parameter Restriction Rules> is a restriction rule applied to<Input>. <Service Info. Location> is position information used when aservice is actually used. In <Method Name>, a name indicating a methodof providing a service process or a service is described.

[0049] <Invocation Scheme> is a scheme for calling a service process andinvoking the service process. Note that, as <Invocation Scheme>, SOAP(Simple Object Access Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol),and the like which are protocols for message exchange can be used.<Implicit Elements> is not data which is explicitly transferred to thesubsequent process as output but is data which can be referred to in asubsequent process.

[0050] The client terminal 10 comprises the functions of a graphicaluser interface (GUI) for performing predetermined operations such as anoperation of designating formulation of instruction data, or a displayoperation for selecting instruction data to be invoked.

[0051] The service retrieval server 20 retrieves a service correspondingto a retrieve condition from a plurality of services connected to thenetwork 5. The service retrieval server 20 stores in advance a part ofI/F information (to be referred to as “partial I/F information”hereinafter) of the various service processing devices such as the imageprocessing apparatus 61, the document management server 62, the documentdelivery server 63, the first service processing device 64, and thesecond service processing device 65. The partial I/F informationmentioned here corresponds to <Service Class>, <Service Name>, <ServiceInf. Location>, <Input> information, and <Output> information.

[0052] The service retrieval server 20 retrieves a service by using thepartial I/F information of the service processing devices whenretrieving conditions are transmitted from the instruction datageneration server 30 or the co-ordinating process server 50. Forexample, when the service retrieval server 20 retrieves the same serviceas the predetermined service, the service retrieval server 20 mayretrieve a service having the same <Service Class> as that of thepredetermined service, a service having the same <Input> and <Output> asthose of the predetermined service, or a service having all the samepieces of information as those of the predetermined service.

[0053] The instruction data generation server 30 acquires pieces of I/Finformation from the service processing devices and generatesinstruction data for co-ordinating services provided by the serviceprocessing devices. The instruction data generation server 30 executesthe following process in detail to form instruction data.

[0054] The instruction data generation server 30 requests predeterminedservice processing devices distributed on the network 5 to transmitpieces of I/F information related to the services on the basis of<Service Info. Location>. When there is no service processing device,the instruction data generation server 30 designates the serviceretrieval server 20 to retrieve another service processing device forperforming the same service as that performed by the predeterminedservice processing device. The instruction data generation server 30 mayacquire <Service Info. Location> of the other service processing devicefrom the service retrieval server 20.

[0055] The instruction data generation server 30 manages a retrievalresult from the service retrieval server 20 and the pieces of I/Finformation received from the service processing devices. Theinstruction data generation server 30 generates an Hyper Markup Language(HTML) file used as a GUI screen for defining a job flow on the basis ofthe pieces of I/F information acquired from the service processingdevices. When the instruction data generation server 30 receives arequest from the client terminal 10 to inspect a service, theinstruction data generation server 30 transmits the HTML file used asthe GUI screen to the client terminal 10.

[0056] In the client terminal 10, a job flow is defined by the GUIscreen for defining a job flow.

[0057] The client terminal 10 transmits job flow information defined byan operation of the user to the instruction data generation server 30.

[0058] The instruction data generation server 30 forms instruction datadefining information for specifying a document to be processed such asthe contents of processes requested to be performed by the services,input parameters, co-ordinating methods of the services (job flow), adocument name, and storage location information on the basis of the jobflow information related to the designation of service co-ordination bythe user and the I/F information of each service. The instruction datais constituted by an XML format file.

[0059]FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the instruction dataconstituted in the XML format. Since a co-ordinating process of theplurality of services is considered as one service, the instruction datahas a configuration in which <Flow> is added to the I/F informationshown in FIG. 3.

[0060] <Flow> is an element, which describes correlation betweenservices and includes <Invoke>, a control structure or a logicoperation, an element such as <if> for deciding a condition, anoperation designation of an XML structure for adjusting co-ordinationbetween services, and information for specifying a document to beprocessed.

[0061] <Invoke> represents a specific method of the service processingdevice and executes calling of a service. Elements of <Invoke> include<Map> representing position information of a parameter and a method name<Method> to be called. <if>, <and>, <eq>, and <gt> representing acontrol structure, a logic operation, or the like perform conditionalbranching in a co-ordinating process or perform adjustment parameterstransferred between services.

[0062] The instruction data describes all pieces of information relatedto control of the co-ordinating process of the services in the elementsof <Flow>. In this manner, the co-ordinating process itself expressed bythe instruction data is also considered as one service. The instructiondata is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 5, and issatisfactory as long as it can perform co-ordination between services.

[0063] The instruction data generation server 30 transmits the aboveinstruction data of the XML format to the instruction data managementserver 40. Moreover, the instruction data generation server 30 maydirectly transmit the instruction data to the co-ordinating processserver 50 when the user designates a service co-ordinating process to beperformed.

[0064] On the other hand, the instruction data management server 40holds the instruction data transmitted from the instruction datageneration server 30 and transmits the instruction data to theco-ordinating process server 50 in response to a request from the clientterminal 10.

[0065] The co-ordinating process server 50 is a server for executing andinterpreting the designated instruction data. When the instruction datais transmitted to the co-ordinating process server 50, the co-ordinatingprocess server 50 interprets the instruction data and sequentially callsservice processing devices such as the image processing apparatus 61,the document management server 62, and the document delivery server 63according to an order and a usage method described in the instructiondata, and executes a co-ordinating process. Moreover, the co-ordinatingprocess server 50 stores a state of the co-ordinating process beingexecuted and result information of co-ordinating processes completed andnotifies the state or the results of the co-ordinating processes inresponse to external request.

[0066] When the co-ordinating process server 50 interprets theinstruction data and requests the service processing devices to performprocesses, the co-ordinating process server 50 generates individualpieces of information capable of specifying process request contents anddocuments to be processed. The co-ordinating process server 50 mayextract relative information between various service processes in theco-ordinating process of the processes performed in the serviceprocessing devices and describe the relative information in theinstruction data. The co-ordinating process server 50 may also performprocess requests not in the format of the instruction data but ininformation exchange formats inherent in the service processing devices.

[0067] The image processing apparatus 61 is a computer in which asoftware program for performing an image processing function isinstalled. The image processing apparatus 61 processes a document on thebasis of service process request contents included in the individualdesignation information from the co-ordinating process server 50 and theinformation contained in a document to be processed. The imageprocessing apparatus 61 notifies the partial I/F information to theservice retrieval server 20 at the time of invocation. Furthermore, theimage processing apparatus 61 transmits I/F information representing ausage method of an image processing service by means of a request fromthe instruction data generation server 30. This I/F information is usedat the time of the formulation of instruction data.

[0068] The document management server 62 has a document storingfunction. The document management server 62 executes storage, retrieval,or reading of a document, a change in attribute related to the document,or various processes on the basis of the information included in therequest from the co-ordinating process server 50.

[0069] The document management server 62 notifies the partial I/Finformation to the service retrieval server 20 at the time ofinvocation. In addition, the document management server 62 transmits theI/F information representing a usage method of a document managementservice by means of a request from the instruction data generationserver 30.

[0070] The document delivery server 63 comprises a function of storingan acquired document in a designated document management server, afunction of performing e-mail or facsimile transmission to a designateddestination, a function of performing a print output process to adesignated printer. The document delivery server 63 performs a documentdelivery process on the basis of a document designated by the clientterminal 10 and information or a delivery destination of the documentdepending on the individual designation information from theco-ordinating process server 50. The document delivery server 63notifies the partial I/F information to the service retrieval server 20at the time of invocation. In addition, the document delivery server 63transmits the I/F information representing a usage method of a deliveryprocess service by means of a request from the instruction datageneration server 30.

[0071] The first service processing device 64 is a device, whichperforms a predetermined service process related to a document accordingto an external designation. The first service processing device 64executes a service process to be executed by the first serviceprocessing device 64 itself on the basis of information such as an inputparameter included in individual designation information from theco-ordinating process server 50 or information for specifying a documentto be processed.

[0072] The first service processing device 64 notifies the partial I/Finformation to the service retrieval server 20 at the time ofinvocation. In addition, the first service processing device 64transmits the I/F information representing the usage method of theservice process on the basis of a request from the instruction datageneration server 30. The second service processing device 65 performsin the same fashion as the first service processing device 64 exceptwith regard to the contents of the service process.

[0073] In the document processing system 1 constituted as describedabove, application programs for executing predetermined services areinstalled in service processing devices such as the image processingapparatus 61, the document management server 62, and the documentdelivery server 63 to operate as described below.

[0074] Service processing devices such as the image processing apparatus61, the document management server 62, and the document delivery server63 notify pieces of partial I/F information including pieces ofinformation representing service outlines and addresses to the serviceretrieval server 20 in an invoking process.

[0075] The service retrieval server 20 stores the pieces of partial I/Finformation transmitted from service processing devices such as theimage processing apparatus 61, the document management server 62, andthe document delivery server 63. In this manner, the service retrievalserver 20 can execute retrieval by using the partial I/F informationwhen a predetermined service retrieving request is received from, e.g.,the instruction data generation server 30 or the co-ordinating processserver 50.

Formulation of Instruction Data

[0076]FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing procedures of the client terminal10 and the instruction data generation server 30 in the formulation ofinstruction data.

[0077] The client terminal 10 accesses the URL (Uniform ResourceLocator) of an HTML file generated on the user interface screen providedby the instruction data generation server 30 in accordance with theoperation of the user through an installed browser, (step ST1).

[0078] The instruction data generation server 30 transmits the HTML fileof the user interface screen to the client terminal 10 in response to abrowsing request from the client terminal 10 (step ST2).

[0079] The client terminal 10 displays the user interface screen on thebasis of information which structures a screen included in, e.g., theHTML file transmitted from the instruction data generation server 30(step ST3). At this time, the user can define a job flow of a desiredservice co-ordination by using the user interface screen displayed onthe client terminal 10.

[0080] The client terminal 10 decides whether the job flow is definedthrough the user interface screen, and waits until the job flow isdefined (step ST4). When it is determined that the job flow is defined,the client terminal 10 transmits job flow information related to theservice co-ordination defined by the user to the instruction datageneration server 30.

[0081] The instruction data generation server 30 forms instruction datain which information for specifying a document to be processed such asthe contents of processes requested to be performed by the services, amethod of co-ordinating the services, a document name, and storagelocation information are defined on the basis of information related tothe job flow of the service co-ordination transmitted from the clientterminal 10 (step ST5) and the I/F information acquired from the serviceprocessing devices. The instruction data generation server 30 transmitsthe instruction data of the XML format to the instruction datamanagement server 40.

[0082] The instruction data management server 40 stores the instructiondata generated by the instruction data generation server 30. Theinstruction data management server 40 stores a plurality of instructiondata formed by the instruction data generation server 30, and reads aselected instruction data when the client terminal 10 designatesinstruction data to be selected.

Invocation and Execution of Cooperating Process

[0083] The user can select a desired instruction data from the pluralityof instruction data stored in the instruction data management server 40,and can invoke the co-ordinating process. This operation will bedescribed below in detail.

[0084]FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the processes of the clientterminal 10, the instruction data management server 40, and theco-ordinating process server 50.

[0085] The client terminal 10 accesses the instruction data managementserver 40 to acquire a list of instruction data managed by theinstruction data management server 40 (step ST11).

[0086] The client terminal 10 selects instruction data expressing apredetermined service co-ordinating process from a service co-ordinatingprocess selection screen on the basis of an operation designation of theuser and designates the instruction data to be invoked. At this time, ifnecessary, a parameter input screen is displayed to the user, and aninput of a parameter required for execution of the job is received.

[0087] The instruction data management server 40 transmits theinstruction data designated by the client terminal 10 to theco-ordinating process server 50 (step ST12). As a result, theco-ordinating process server 50 starts execution of the co-ordinatingprocess.

[0088] The co-ordinating process server 50 interprets the instructiondata transmitted by the instruction data management server 40 andrequests the image processing apparatus 61 which executes the firstprocess described in the instruction data to execute the first serviceprocess (step ST13). More specifically, the co-ordinating process server50 extracts a location of a service processing device requested toperform a process, an input parameter required for a process request, amethod name for the process request, an invoking method, and informationfor specifying a document to be processed on the basis of theinformation described in the instruction data and formulates individualdesignation information. The co-ordinating process server 50 transmitsthe individual designation information to the image processing apparatus61 which serves as a recipient of a first process request.

[0089] The image processing apparatus 61 copies the document to beprocessed on the basis of the storage location information of thedocument to be processed described in the individual designationinformation transmitted and acquires a document. The image processingapparatus 61 interprets the contents of the individual designationinformation for the acquired document image and performs imageprocessing such as noise reduction or an OCR process to perform abinding process between the document image and an extracted textdocument. The image processing apparatus 61 stores again in the originalstorage location the document obtained by the binding at the imagedocument obtained by the image processing with the text document. Uponcompletion of these processes, the image processing apparatus 61transmits processing results such as status information of the processes(completion), output parameters, and storage location information of theprocessed document to the co-ordinating process server 50.

[0090] When the co-ordinating process server 50 receives the processingresults from the image processing apparatus 61, the co-ordinatingprocess server 50 logs and manages a first process request result. Theco-ordinating process server 50 specifies a recipient of a secondprocess request on the basis of the instruction data, and requests thedocument management server 62 to execute the second service process(step ST14). As with the first service process request, theco-ordinating process server 50 transmits to the document managementserver 62 individual designation information (information representingthat a document serving as information related to a process request bestored, information about a document storage location, and informationfor specifying a document to be processed).

[0091] The document management server 62 performs a storing process ofthe document which has been processed and stored in the previous process(first service process) on the basis of the request contents of theco-ordinating process server 50 on the basis of storage locationinformation described in the request contents of the co-ordinatingprocess server 50. Upon completion of these processes, the documentmanagement server 62 transmits processing results such as statusinformation of the process (completion), output parameters, and storagelocation information of the processed document to the co- ordinatingprocess server 50.

[0092] When the co-ordinating process server 50 receives the processingresults from the second service process (document storing process), theco-ordinating process server 50 logs and manages the second processrequest result. The co-ordinating process server 50 now specifies arecipient of a third process request on the basis of the instructiondata, and requests the document delivery server 63 to execute a thirdservice process (step ST15). As with the second service process request,the co-ordinating process server 50 transmits individual designationinformation (information representing that a document serving asinformation related to a process request be stored, information about adocument storage location, and information for specifying a document tobe processed) to the document delivery server 63.

[0093] The document delivery server 63 reads the document which has beenprocessed and stored in the previous process (second service process) onthe basis of the request contents of the co-ordinating process server50, on the basis of information for specifying the document (storagelocation information), and performs a process described in the requestcontents. In this case, with the document obtained by binding the textdocument with the image document, the document delivery server 63transmits only the text document to an e-mail address designated as adelivery destination for E-mail, and performs facsimile transmission ofonly the image document to a facsimile number. Upon completion of theprocess, the document delivery server 63 transmits processing resultssuch as status information of the process (completion), outputparameters, and storage location information of the processed documentto the co-ordinating process server 50.

[0094] In this process, when, for example, the document delivery server63 has been unable to access a destination in, e.g., a facsimiletransmission process with a predetermined number of second attemptsbecause the destination is engaged the document delivery server 63transmits, “mail transmission: completion, facsimile transmission:untransmitted” as status information to the co-ordinating process server50.

[0095] The co-ordinating process server 50 receives the processingresults from the third service process, and determines that the nextprocess is not described in the instruction data. In this case, theco-ordinating process server 50 notifies the client terminal 10 that allthe processes have been completed, and terminates the co-ordinatingprocess (step ST16).

[0096] In this embodiment, the service retrieval server 20 acquires apart of I/F information (partial I/F information) from the serviceprocessing devices. However, the invention is not limited to thisconfiguration. For example, the service retrieval server 20 may acquireall the I/F information.

[0097] As described above, according to the document processing system 1of this embodiment, a series of processes performed by serviceprocessing devices such as the image processing apparatus 61, thedocument management server 62, the document delivery server 63, thefirst service processing device 64, and the second service processingdevice 65 are defined by instruction data, so that the series ofprocesses can be executed in one simple operation.

[0098] On the other hand, when the image processing apparatus 61comprises a display component such as a touch panel which displays ascreen and accepts an operation input by the user, the user may need tobe requested to input a designation of a change in image processingdensity or the like when image processing such as an OCR processexecuted by the image processing apparatus 61 on the basis of theindividual designation information is received from the co-ordinatingprocess server 50.

[0099] In such a case, a display screen depending on the displaycomponent arranged on the image processing apparatus 61 side must beprovided.

[0100] Therefore, in this embodiment, the individual designationinformation transmitted from the co-ordinating process server 50 to theimage processing apparatus 61 is transmitted together with userinterface (to be referred to a UI hereinafter) information. The UIinformation is a generic term for information for requesting the user toperform outputting (screen display) or inputting of the pieces ofinformation constituting the I/F information (see FIG. 3) describedabove. For example, the UI information corresponds to <Input>, <Output>,and <Parameter Restriction Rules> constituting the I/F information.

[0101] In this embodiment, the image processing apparatus 61 comprises adisplay process function component 69 (FIG. 7), by which user can inputinstructions and display information to the user can be displayed on adisplay.

[0102]FIG. 7 shows an example of a block diagram showing the displayprocess function component 69.

[0103] The image processing apparatus 61 includes a microcomputerconstituted by a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and comprises the displayprocess function component 69. The display process function component 69is constituted by a display control component 70 and the displayprocessing component 72. The display control component 70 is constitutedby instruction data acquisition component 74, instruction data storagecomponent 76, and instruction data interpreting component 78. Thedisplay processing component 72 is constituted by a display contentsinterpreting component 80, a display image generation component 82 and adisplay component 84 such as an LCD or a CRT. The above-mentionedinstruction data acquisition component 74, the instruction data storagecomponent 76, the instruction data interpreting component 78, thedisplay contents interpreting component 80, the display image generationcomponent 82 and the display component 84 are connected to amicrocomputer and can exchange data with each other.

[0104] The instruction data acquisition component 74 is connected to thenetwork 5 and acquires individual designation information from theco-ordinating process server 50. The instruction data storage component76 stores the acquired individual designation information. Theinstruction data interpreting component 78 interprets the individualdesignation information acquired by the instruction data acquisitioncomponent 74, extracts a UI information part included in the individualdesignation information, and outputs the UI information part to thedisplay processing component 72.

[0105] The display contents interpreting component 80 interprets the UIinformation output from the instruction data interpreting component 78and outputs an interpretation result to the display image generationcomponent 82. The display image generation component 82 generates screeninformation of a display screen displayed on the display component 84.When the interpretation result output from the display contentsinterpreting component 80 includes a reference location information ofthe screen information, the display image generation component 82 canalso acquire screen information depending on the reference locationinformation from the outside (to be described later). As an example ofthe reference location information, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) orthe like representing a reference location is known.

[0106] This embodiment will describe a case in which image informationof the HTML format has been stored in the document management server 62in advance. As the format of the image information stored in thedocument management server 62, not only the HTML format but also variousformats such as the BINARY format or the XML format can be used.

[0107] The display component 84 displays a display screen of screeninformation, accepts an operation input by the user, and has a touchpanel function.

[0108] The instruction data acquisition component 74 corresponds to theacquisition component according to the invention, and the displaycomponent 84 corresponds to the display component. The instruction datainterpreting component 78 corresponds to the extraction componentaccording to the invention, the display image generation component 82corresponds to the generation component, and the display contentsinterpreting component 80 corresponds to the interpreting component.

[0109] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the UI information isstored in advance in the instruction data generation server 30. It mayalso be assumed that the UI information can be stored in serviceprocessing devices such as the image processing apparatus 61 and thedocument management server 62. The UI information is not storedexclusively in the instruction data generation server 30.

[0110]FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing the configuration of the UIinformation. The UI information is constituted by pieces of iteminformation representing objects to be displayed. As pieces of iteminformation, for example, <Popup>, <Alternate Button>, <Parameter Name>,and the like are used. Information representing corresponding shapes arestored in association with the pieces of item information such thatshapes or characters, which are defined in advance, are formed.

[0111] The pieces of item information are structured to include piecesof attribute information. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the pieces ofattribute information are tree-structured as components of pieces ofitem information. The attribute information is information used forgenerating a screen structure for displaying the item information on ascreen or interpreting a value displayed on the screen, or represents aposition, a shape, a value to be displayed, and the like which are usedto display on a screen.

[0112] A spieces of attribute information, <Object Type>, <Value ofObject>, <Layout Information>, and the like are known. <Object Type>represents a process performed such that item information to bedisplayed on a screen is designated by the user. <Value of Object> is avalue such as a string of characters displayed on a screen. <LayoutInformation> represents relative position coordinates on the displayscreen of item information displayed on a screen.

[0113] The pieces of attribute information belonging to the pieces ofitem information are not limited to <Object Type>, <Value of Object>,and <Layout Information>, described above. The pieces of attributeinformation can also be constituted by further pieces of attributeinformation. For example, the pieces of attribute information canfurther include pieces of attribute information such as <Number ofObjects> representing the number of pieces of item information, <InitialSetting Value> representing an initial setting value, and the like. Incontrast to this, it is possible for the attribute information to beconstituted by only one of <Object Type>, <Value of Object>, and <LayoutInformation>.

[0114] Although in the present embodiment, the image diagram showing theconfiguration of the UI information has deliberately been madetree-structured in order to simplify the explanation, it is not limitedto the tree-structured diagram.

[0115]FIG. 6 shows an example of UI information included in instructiondata having an XML format configuration. The UI information included inthe instruction data is described between <UI> representing the startposition of the UI information and the end position </UI> of the UIinformation.

[0116] In the UI information shown in FIG. 6, as pieces of iteminformation displayed on a screen, <Popup> and <Button> are shown. Asthe attribute information of <Popup>, “copy density” is shown as thevalue of an object.

[0117] As the attribute information of <Button> shown at an upper level,“CLOSE” is shown as the value of an object, “close” is shown as anobject type, and an X-coordinate value “700” and a Y-coordinate value“5” are shown as the layout information.

[0118] As the attribute information of <Button> shown at a lower level,“true” representing that attribute information can be selected as anobject type is shown, and “alternate” representing a selective input isshown. As the layout information, an X-coordinate value “200” and aY-coordinate value “100” are shown. As the number of objects, “7” isshown. As the initial setting value, “3” is shown. As values of objects,“lighter (+3)”, “lighter (+2)”, “lighter (+1)”, “normal”, “darker (+1)”,“darker (+2)”; and “darker (+3)” are shown.

[0119] The item information and the attribute information described inthe UI information may be determined as follows. For example,predetermined values are prepared in advance in the instruction datageneration server 30, and the item information and the attributeinformation are determined on the basis of the predetermined values thusprepared.

Screen Display Method in Image Processing Apparatus 61

[0120] A display process executed in the image processing apparatus 61in step ST13 (FIG. 9) will be described below with reference to FIG. 10.

[0121] In the image processing apparatus 61, in step 200, individualdesignation information is acquired from the co-ordinating processserver 50 by the instruction data acquisition component 74. In the nextstep 202, the acquired individual designation information is stored inthe instruction data storage component 76.

[0122] In the next step 204, UI information included in the individualdesignation information is extracted. The process in step 204 isperformed such that the individual designation information is read fromthe instruction data storage component 76 and information describedbetween <UI> representing the start position of the UI informationincluded in the individual designation information and the end position</UI> of the UI information is read in the instruction data interpretingcomponent 78. The UI information extracted by the process in step 204 isoutput to the display contents interpreting component 80.

[0123] In the next step 206, it is confirmed by the display contentsinterpreting component 80 whether or not the UI information includes anitem representing a designation of external reference.

[0124] When the determination is negative in step 206, the procedureproceeds to step 212 and generate screen information of a display screendisplayed on the display component 84 by the display image generationcomponent 82 and which is based on the UI information extracted in step204 (to be described later). Thereafter, the procedure proceeds to step214.

[0125] On the other hand, when the determination is affirmative in step206, the procedure proceeds to step 208 and reads the screen informationbased on the external reference information. In this embodiment, forexample, when the document management server 62 is designated as theexternal reference information, the document management server 62 isaccessed through the network 5 in accordance with the external referenceinformation. In the next step 210, the corresponding screen informationis read from the document management server 62, and the procedureproceeds to step 214.

[0126] A request for transmission of the screen information signal istransmitted to the document management server 62 in accordance with theexternal reference information and the screen information based on therequest for transmission signal can be received from the documentmanagement server 62.

[0127] After the screen information generated in step 212 or read instep 210 is displayed on the display component 84, in step 214 thisroutine is completed.

Display Image Generation Process

[0128] A display image generation process in step 212 will be describedbelow with reference to FIG. 11.

[0129] In step 300, a reading process of item information included inthe UI information is executed. Item information described in theprevious stage of the UI information is read by the process in step 300.

[0130] In the next step 304, an object type reading process of the iteminformation read in step 300 is executed. By means of the process instep 304, a process performed by items, which are displayed on thescreen, from among the item information read in step 300 is read.

[0131] In the next step 306, a layout information reading process of theitem information read in step 300 is executed. By means of the processin step 306, relative position coordinates from among the iteminformation read in step 300, which are displayed on the screen of thedisplay component 84, are read.

[0132] In the next step 308, an object value reading process of the iteminformation read in step 300 is executed. By means of the process instep 308, a value of the item information read in step 300 is displayedon the screen and read.

[0133] In the next step 310, it is determined whether or not iteminformation has been further described in the subsequent stage of theitem information read in step 300. When the determination is affirmativein step 310, the procedure returns to step 300 and repeats the processesin steps 300 to 308 until the determination becomes negative in step310.

[0134] This embodiment has described cases in which, as the attributeinformation reading process of the item information read in step 300,object types, layout information, and values of objects are read in theprocesses in steps 304 to 308. A process of reading additional differentpieces of attribute information can also be performed. In this case,upon completion of the process in step 308, it is determined whether ornot attribute information for the item information read in step 300 isfurther included. When the determination is affirmative, the attributeinformation may be further read.

[0135] Furthermore, in the processes in steps 304 to 308, any one of theprocesses of reading object types, layout information, and values ofobjects may be executed. In these cases, immediately before execution ofprocesses in step 304 to 308, it is determined whether or not the piecesof attribute information are shown. For example, immediately before theprocess in step 304, it is determined whether or not an object typebelonging to the item information read in step 300 is shown. When thedetermination is affirmative, the procedure proceeds to step 306. Whenthe determination is negative, it is likewise possible, immediatelybefore the next step 306, to determine whether or not the layoutinformation is shown.

[0136] When the processes in steps 300 to 308 are repeated, the piecesof item information shown in the UI information and the pieces ofattribute information are sequentially interpreted by the displaycontents interpreting component 80.

[0137] In the next step 312, a screen information generation process isexecuted. The screen information is generated in the following manner.That is, shapes corresponding to the pieces of item informationdisplayed on the display component 84 are formed in accordance with thepieces of item information read by the processes in steps 300 to 308 andthe pieces of attribute information belonging to the pieces of the iteminformation, a screen structure representing the display positions ofthe pieces of item information of the formed shapes is generated, andvalues to be displayed are reflected on the generated screen structure.

[0138] More specifically, a button and a display pattern whichcorrespond to the item information and which are associated in advancewith the item information are formed from the item information, and ascreen structure is generated based on the relation of the displayposition of the item information with the formed display pattern.Moreover, a process to be performed is recognized in accordance withitem information selected by the user on the basis of an object type, avalue to be displayed is recognized from the value of the object, andthe value is reflected in the screen structure generated as describedabove.

[0139] In this embodiment, it is assumed that display specificationssuch as the size of the display component 84 and the number ofdisplayable colors are stored in advance in the image processingapparatus 61 and that the display specifications are reflected at thetime of the generation of the screen information.

[0140] The screen information generated in step 312 is displayed on thedisplay component 84 in step 214.

[0141] For example, when the UI information shown in FIG. 6 is read bythe processes in steps 300 to 310, processes of reading the pieces ofitem information <Popup>, <Button>, and the pieces of attributeinformation belonging to the pieces of item information are executed, sothat a display screen shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. More specifically,as shown in FIG. 12, a “copy density” is displayed on the display screenas a text. A “close” button is displayed at a position indicated by anX-coordinate 700 and a Y-coordinate 5. Further, seven alternate buttonsare selectively displayed, and the third alternate button is displayedin the state that it was selected. These alternate buttons are displayedon the screen at a position indicated by an X-coordinate 200 and aY-coordinate 100. On these alternate buttons, “lighter (+3)”, “lighter(+2)”, “lighter (+1)”, “normal”, “darker (+1)”, “darker (+2)”, and“darker (+3)” are displayed as the values of objects.

[0142] When “normal” (displayed in gray in this embodiment) has beenselected as an initial value on the display component 84 on which thedisplay screen is shown as in FIG. 12, and is selectively changed to“darker”, a designation is input such that an alternate button position90 displayed at a position at which “darker (+2)” is displayed isdepressed by the user, and a value representing “darker (+2) is therebyinput. When the input value is registered in individual designationinformation stored in the instruction data storage component 76 and thevalue of “Default Selection” representing the initial setting value ofattribute information is updated, the subsequent image processing in theimage processing apparatus 61 can be executed at a changed density.

[0143] This embodiment has described the case in which a screeninformation generation process of a display screen depending on the UIinformation is performed by the image processing apparatus 61. However,even in service processing devices such as the document managementserver 62, the document delivery server 63, the first service processingdevice 64, and the second service processing device 65 which constitutethe document processing system 1, processes can be executed by the sameprocess routine as described above.

[0144] In these cases, the same functions as the function of the displayprocess function component 69 are arranged in service processing devicessuch as the document management server 62, the document delivery server63, the first service processing device 64, and the second serviceprocessing device 65, so that the UI information may be included in theindividual designation information transmitted from the co-ordinatingprocess server 50.

[0145] In this way, in service processing devices such as the documentmanagement server 62, the document delivery server 63, the first serviceprocessing device 64, and the second service processing device 65 whichconstitute the document processing system 1, display screens dependingon the UI information can also be displayed in the same manner.

[0146] As described above, with regard to each service processingdevice, a display screen need not be installed in advance, and displayscreens depending on the functions of the services are dynamicallygenerated on the basis of the instruction data. For this reason, displayscreens having excellent expandability and versatility can be provided.

[0147] Moreover, since image information based on the specifications ofthe display screens installed in the service processing devices can beformed depending on the UI information, display screens in accordancewith the display units of the service processing devices can beprovided.

[0148] Each of the above embodiments has described a case in which theinvention has been applied to the document processing system 1 whichexecutes a series of processes described in instruction data bydelegating different processes using the co-ordinating process server 50and is performed by a plurality of service processing devices connectedto each other through a network. However, the invention is not limitedto these cases. For example, the invention can also be applied to adocument processing system, which executes the processes described inthe instruction data without using the co-ordinating process server 50.This feature will be described below with reference to drawings. In thefollowing description, the same reference numerals as in the aboveembodiments denote the same parts, and a description thereof will beomitted.

[0149]FIG. 13 is a block diagram for explaining interrelation betweenservice processing devices constituting a document processing system100. The document processing system 100 can execute a co-ordinatingprocess of a plurality of services without using the co-ordinatingprocess server 50 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Invocation and Execution of Cooperating Process

[0150] The user can select a desired instruction data from a pluralityof instruction data stored in the instruction data management server 40,and can invoke a co-ordinating process. This operation will be describedbelow in detail.

[0151] The client terminal 10 selects instruction data expressing adesired service co-ordinating process from a service co-ordinatingprocess selection screen depending on an operation of the user, anddesignates the instruction data to be invoked. The instruction datamanagement server 40 transmits the instruction data designated by theclient terminal 10 to the image processing apparatus 61.

[0152] The image processing apparatus 61 acquires a document to beprocessed on the basis of storage location information of a document tobe processed described in the transmitted instruction data. The imageprocessing apparatus 61 interprets service process request contents withrespect to the acquired document image, performs image processing suchas noise reduction or an OCR process, and performs a process of bindingthe document image with an extracted text document. The image processingapparatus 61 interprets UI information included in the instruction dataand displays on the display component 84 a display image in accordancewith the UI information. Upon completion of the predetermined imageprocessing, the image processing apparatus 61 deletes a service processrequest described in the instruction data. The image processingapparatus 61 transmits a document obtained by binding an image documentobtained by image processing with a text document and instruction datacontaining processing results such as status information of the process(completion), output parameters, and processed document storage locationinformation to the document management server 62 for providing the nextservice process.

[0153] After the predetermined image processing is terminated, the imageprocessing apparatus 61 may correct or delete part of a service requestof the image processing apparatus 61 described in the instruction dataand can transmit the document to the document management server 62. Inaddition, the image processing apparatus 61 can be structured totransmit the instruction data to the next service processing device,after the image processing is terminated.

[0154] The document management server 62 temporarily stores the documenttransmitted from the image processing apparatus 61 in the storagelocation described in the instruction data. The document managementserver 62 deletes the service process request described in theinstruction data, and transmits the document and the instruction data tothe document delivery server 63 for performing the next service process.

[0155] On the basis of the instruction data, the document deliveryserver 63 performs e-mail transmission for only a text document of adocument obtained by binding a text document with an image document toan e-mail address designated as a delivery destination, and performsfacsimile transmission for only the image document to a designatedfacsimile number. When the document delivery server 63 determines thatthe next process is not described in the instruction data, the documentdelivery server 63 notifies the client terminal 10 that all theprocesses have been completed and terminates the co-ordinating process.

[0156] A plurality of service processing devices for executing theservices in the document processing system 100 which do not use theco-ordinating process server 50 described above or the documentprocessing system 1 which uses the co-ordinating process server 50 canalso be applied to a complex machine which is constituted as anindependent machine without a network.

[0157] When the invention is applied to the document processing system100 or the complex machine, the same effects as in the above embodimentscan be obtained.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image processing apparatus comprising: anacquisition component which acquires instruction data in which processinformation representing as a series of processes a process performed todocument data and setting information including at least a setting itemand a setting value for setting execution contents of the processes aredescribed; an extraction component which extracts from the instructiondata the setting information to be displayed on the display component; ageneration component which generates screen information for displaying ascreen on the display component on the basis of the setting informationextracted by the extraction component; and a display component whichdisplays a screen on the basis of the screen information.
 2. The imageprocessing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the generation componentgenerates the screen information by obtaining a screen structure on thebasis of the setting information and applying the setting information tothe obtained screen structure.
 3. The image processing apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the generation component includes an interpretingcomponent which interprets a display item for defining the screenstructure on the basis of the setting information extracted by theextraction component.
 4. The image processing apparatus of claim 1,wherein the acquisition component acquires the instruction data from anexternal device.
 5. The image processing apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe instruction data further includes storage location informationrepresenting a position of an external device in which the screeninformation is stored in advance, and the acquisition component furtheracquires the screen information based on the storage locationinformation.
 6. The image processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein thestorage location information is address information representing theposition of the external storage device, which is connected to acommunication network.
 7. The image processing apparatus of claim 4,wherein the acquisition component can be connected to a server in whichthe screen information is stored, and acquires the screen informationfrom the server.
 8. An image processing method which can acquireinstruction data in which process information representing as a seriesof processes a process performed to document data and settinginformation including at least a setting item and a setting value forsetting execution contents of the processes are described, the imageprocessing method comprising the steps of: extracting from theinstruction data the setting information to be displayed; and generatingscreen information for displaying a screen on the basis of the extractedsetting information; and displaying a screen on the basis of thegenerated screen information.
 9. The image processing method of claim 8,wherein the screen information is generated by obtaining a screenstructure on the basis of the setting information and applying thesetting information to the obtained screen structure.